gravel garden – My Japanesque Garden

After all the literal ground breaking projects I’ve done over the last 2 years (see The Plans), the end is almost in sight. Last but not least, comes the moment to complete the gravelled garden area where there was once a raised overgrown, weedy lawn

^{first steps for the gravelled garden!}

18 months ago, I mattocked out the turf along the hedge as preparation for a paved boundary path. Amongst other uses, it would provide a complete edging to stop the planned gravel from ‘travelling’. (see Of Boundaries and Bogs)

Over the next few months I gradually removed all the grass, relocated the top soil for the three shrubby beds which triangulate the raised garden area and built up the lower paths of the garden with sub soil scrapings. (see Ground work)

^{gravel garden and teahouse still a work in progress}

Down at subsoil level, it is mostly clay permeated with assorted rubble, some of which required digging out. And because the clay subsoil when wet is so slippery, it was necessary to put down several bags of ballast (a sand and stone aggregate). At this point an earth whacking machine would have been ideal but instead I levelled the ground as best as I could with a handmade tamper.

^{locating the qigong platform before finallymortaring in place}

Built into plans for the gravel garden was a small paved platform for my morning qigong practice. I’d initially set it temporarily in place facing the teahouse but soon decided it needed a 90 degree turn to face south, and what would become the ‘Far Sight’ shrubbery bed.

Within the planned gravelled area, some small paving slabs were laid first, as stepping stones, reaching from the raised garden’s stone access steps to the south steps besides the greenhouse. This enabled the gravel garden also to extend and create a sedum garden there.

Since there should be some informality to stepping stones, I only used rudimentary measurements and levelling with a sand base but no mortar. I also declined to use any sort of weed suppressant membrane and will deal with what pops up as and when it does.

The back garden only has a very narrow, restricted access so the bulk bag of pea gravel was delivered to the front. This meant many trips to and fro, filling one large bucket from small containers then dragging and tipping in place. And the last bucket load felt as satisfying as putting the final piece of a jigsaw puzzle in place.

A scrolling view of the Gravel garden in the making

tools for the job
measuring the stride between stepping stones
a slight curve for informality
moving the gravel
from small container to big bucket
half the bag now gone!
sedum garden
my morning view of the gravel garden
gigong platform in the sun
残り物には福がある。 (Nokorimono ni wa fuku ga aru) There is luck in the last helping.

Winter is the season dominated by bare soil: the whole gardening cycle begins with the care and preparation of the earth during winter ~ Monty Don

After weeks of rain in most of January and intermittent freezing temperatures since, there has not be a great deal of time to get out and do the necessary ground work to the Japanesque garden before the rush of Spring.

And literally it is ground work that has occupied much of what gardening time there’s been. Back in September I scrubbed up the weed-raddled raised lawn – the clods upturned and edged the top boundary hedge (will seed with yellow rattle to inhibit grass regrowth). The remaining top soil was then divided between three newly made shrubbery beds triangulating this area.

That left this winter’s task of levelling off the ground to make adequate depths for the planned gravel garden. It required shifting bucket loads of subsoil (drag, drop, tip) which were then relocated to stabilize woodland paths.

As a consequence of the restricted time and much needed respite from these labour intensive days, I succumbed to planting out some of my evergreen potted plants for the shrubbery beds, before the new plants arrive next month. Maybe I was a little hasty given the fluctuating temperatures but these are fairly tough plants.

^{First Sight bed –}‘^{cos first view of the garden!}

The holly-like Japanese Osmanthus ‘Goshiki’ and the very fragrant Asian hybrid O. burkwoodi now reside in the ‘First Sight’ shrubbery bed whilst ‘Soft Caress’ Chinese Mahonia with its bamboo like leaves occupies the ‘Second Sight’ bed.

This year, I plan to only purchase shrubs for the garden as they and the trees I already have form the structural framework which perennials and ground cover plants can infill at a later time. Annuals though are ideal for this job till then.

This White Forsythia was an earlier purchase which forms part of the trellis displays, midway into the garden. And on the shopping list (to be collected from Cornwall on my brief holiday next week) are 2 hydrangeas; 1 Daphne, 1 Chaenomoles, 1 Spirea and 1 evergreen azalea (see Japanese Garden planting plans).

But then I came across one of my woodland wishlist perennials in a half-price sale – Disporum ‘night heron’. It was irresistible and so I added 2 more to include the Japanese burnet Sanguisorba Tanna as well as Persicaria superba to grow beside the pond.

Because I have to be restrained when it comes to spending on plants and because there is so much space to fill, I seem to have gone overboard with packets of seeds!. There’s a good mix of annual, perennials and half-hardies, some edibles as well as ornamentals, including the stately Castor Oil plant, the grasses Pennisetum, Chasmanthium, and Thalictrum (Chinese meadow rue), dwarf Chinese asters and a clematis ‘Korean Beauty’.

I’m preparing the top terrace bed as a fruit and vegetable garden. It will be walled with some of the myriad stone blocks that have been uncovered in all my various digs! And this year I’ll be trying out two Japanese vegetables – chopsuey Shungiku’ and a babyleaf Tatsoi.

Researching and buying seeds and plants is as much ground work for the garden as toiling the ground. The year ahead will show the fruits (or not) of both labours! After all